Lowerclass is not Upperclass
by MidnightRose24
Summary: Percy has always been a little uncomfortable with his social class. However, Annabeth is going to change that—hopefully. One-shot.


**A/N: I gave Sally a job. I don't know if it's the right one or not, but oh well. Close enough~**

Percy looked around the restaurant that sat in the middle of Manhattan, and noticed how sophisticated everyone looked next to him. Here he was at this fancy dinner party that his mother was a part of, thanks to her hard work at her new job in the book editing business, wearing a last-minute somewhat cheap suit while everyone else wore designer brands and drank expensive wine from glass goblets. It was like stepping into camp for the first time again: he was the underdog here and would have to find his way around—fast—in order to not make such a fool of himself.

"Excuse me, sir? Would you like to try some?" A pretty waitress with soft-looking brown hair and hazel eyes that destroyed the girl's attempt at a smile by showing her true feeling of boredom, stood behind Percy with a shiny silver tray balanced on her right hand. It held little balls of fried bread. Obviously something was inside the bread but what it was remained a mystery to Percy. He would never know until he tried.

"Sure, thanks." He plucked one of the little balls and popped it into his mouth, chewing slowly. Something about this tasted odd; almost as if he should know what he was eating, but he couldn't quite remember the name. "What's in this?" Percy asked in between bites.

"Um, I think it's just some breaded shrimp-"

Percy paled and his jaw went slack. He grabbed a cheap cocktail napkin off of her tray and spit, rather noisily, the remains of one of his father's creations into it.

"Is something wrong?" the waitress asked, concerned over his sudden disgust. Others stared at the teenage boy as he coughed and sputtered.

"I don't eat seafood," he told her hoarsely.

"Oh. Well…I'm sorry?" The ending sounded more like a question than a sincere apology. Should this girl be sorry for something that Percy had failed to let her know? Percy didn't think so.

He held up his hand, palm facing towards her, like he was warding her off. For what reason, he didn't know. "It's okay. It's my fault."

The girl stared at him in a scrutinizing way and then began to turn away once she decided she was free to leave. "Okay. Well, uh, have a good night."

"Right." Percy felt a bit embarrassed by the situation now. He could have handled that a little more smoothly. It was the thought that he may have talked to that little shrimp once upon a time that would haunt him any time he saw, or even thought, about shrimp from now on. "Have a good night," he called after the waitress. He held himself back from slapping himself across the face. That did not help his situation.

He glanced around the room and searched for Annabeth, hoping that she would be able to keep himself from making an even bigger idiot of himself. As soon as he spotted her, he pushed through the crowds (he made sure to say 'excuse me' to everyone he even so much as brushed up against) as briskly as possible.

"Hey," Annabeth greeted him. She tossed a plain black plastic plate into the trash and swallowed her last bite of whatever she had been eating. "What's wrong?" she asked somewhat concerned, somewhat alert in case the problem could relate to monsters.

"Lower-class is not upper-class," he told her firmly, like every word he had just said made perfect sense and Annabeth should know exactly what he meant.

In truth, she did not. But at least the problem didn't mean that they would have to get their clothes ripped (these "dress clothes" didn't come cheap) or that they could possibly be injured tonight. "What?" Percy repeated himself. "That doesn't make sense."

"Yes, it does. I'm from the lower-class in New York. This," he gestured to the rest of the room, "is not lower-class. It's upper-class. I don't belong here."

Annabeth shook her head slowly. "It's not that bad," she assured him without too much of a tone of caring in her voice. Honestly, he was overreacting.

"Yes, it is. It's like being a poor demigod at a party on Olympus!" Percy threw his hands up in the air to emphasize his point.

"You were that not-as-rich demigod at one of Olympus's parties once. It turned out fine." She leaned back on the table, sure that her point was made and he could now calm down.

"Yeah, fine. It turned out fine, especially when your mom was talking to me and was ready to slice me to bits at any moment," he countered, his voice heavy with sarcasm. "I think she and I really had a bonding moment there."

"Actually, one could argue that you two did have a bonding moment."

"Yes, _you_ could argue about—"

Annabeth slapped him upside the head—not hard enough for it to really hurt—cutting him off from whatever else he was going to say. It was her way of saying, "I'm not done" without really having to say anything at all. "From what you've told me, she did tell you she'd give you and I a chance—and she's stuck to her word," Annabeth pointed out.

Percy shrugged, losing another argument with his girlfriend. He couldn't deny that Athena had been telling the truth. "Yeah, that's true," he admitted.

"Now, listen," Annabeth demanded her boyfriend's attention. When he still seemed to be a little distant Annabeth squeezed his forearm. "_Listen_. Your social, or economic, or whatever, class doesn't matter. What matters is that your mom worked her way to this point and is succeeding. You shouldn't worry about who's richer or poorer. In the end it's your life work that's gonna decide most things."

Percy was well aware that Annabeth's words were true. Value didn't always equal money, but this world was superficial. In certain places it would decide more than your "life work".

Sensing his ever-present worry that hung in the air between them, Annabeth gently placed her hand under his chin and tilted it up the slightest. "You proved Olympus that coming from your place didn't mean that you wouldn't be a great hero. You can prove to these mortals too that where you come from doesn't decide where you end up, just like your mom is doing now." She leaned in and kissed him. "Come on. Dinner should be served soon."

"No seafood," Percy managed to spit out.

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows together. "Obviously. You never eat seafood." She paused and asked him what happened with her stormy grey eyes.

"Long story," he answered vocally. He put his hand on the lower part of her back and pushed her forward a little. "Let's just go," he said with a small blush.

Annabeth didn't argue. "Right, let's go, Seaweed Brain. We wouldn't want you to become Seafood Mouth," she joked lamely.

"You made up better nicknames when you were eleven," Percy commented, holding back a laugh.

"It was a bad one, I know. Now shut up."

Percy laughed despite the looks he got from others.

"Percy Jackson, shut your mouth." Though she protested his laughs she couldn't help but let a few escape herself. "You will not eat if you don't stop it." She grabbed his hand and dragged him behind her.

They were still giddy as they entered the main dining area. When they were seated Percy took one look at the knives, forks, and spoons, and exclaimed, "My gods, do we really need all these forks?"

Annabeth may have been right that his class didn't make him any less valuable, but apparently it didn't mean that eating in the upper-class way wouldn't be a challenge. Annabeth glanced to her left and saw that no one was coming to sit there yet. She snatched the napkin off the table (whoever sat down there could get a new one). It didn't hurt to be prepared for any spills or any unwanted food that needed to be spit somewhere other than the plate. The napkin probably would be needed; it was Percy, after all.

Percy saw this movement out of the corner of his eye and gave her a questioning look. "I just want another. You know, just in case." She acted as innocent as possible.

"What happened to having faith in me?" he asked, slightly offended by this sudden change.

"When it comes to most other things there shouldn't be a problem, but you eat like a wild animal."

"Do not."

"Do too."

Their bickering was cut short by the waiters and waitresses that entered the room and set down carefully made plates of food. A particular brunette waitress with a plate of fish in her hand walked past Annabeth and Percy. She stopped by Annabeth and asked, "Would you like some fish or did you order the steak?"

"Oh no, I ordered the steak," she told her, leaving out the part about it being out of respect for Percy.

"Both of you don't eat fish." The waitress nodded, seeming to hold back a smile. "Well, enjoy your steaks."

As soon as she was out of ear-shot Annabeth turned to Percy. Before a word left her mouth Percy told her, "Nothing", and took a swig of his drink. He set the glass back down and in the process knocked the water glass next to him, causing some to slosh over the side and onto the tablecloth.

Annabeth snatched up another napkin near her and prayed that there were plenty more where that came from. They were definitely needed tonight.


End file.
